My Asus Strix GTX 970 review

[maxtex]

Fuck it, my Asus Strix has issues too now, though it seemed fine the first day, it had some very slight buzzing noise but that's all. But since then that buzzing has become louder and more annoying with really high tones that you can hear through the case. Also there's more coil whine now, first day I it was okay as I only heard it when the fps was 600+ in some game menu, but now it's already with like 100 or 150 fps. And to top it off, the fans become a bit too loud after a while, and also make a bit of a rattling noise (which is also hearable through the case). So this sucks, because there was nothing wrong with the performance of the card.. And there's too many people
I ordered me a new power supply first, which arrives tomorrow, gonna try out if it helps anything. I needed a new PSU anyway, I have a CS450M, ordered me a 600W Be Quiet now
But I'm guessing it won't help anything, as there's issues with both coil noise/whine and the fans, so I'm probably sending the card back tomorrow or on Monday, it just seems I have a defective card.
Have no idea what to do next though... whether to wait a bit and buy another Strix hoping the issues were only with some first cards, or to buy a different 970 (although there seem to be even more noise/fan complaints about the other cards), or maybe wait for a 960 or something..

 

[Frag Maniac]

"Trustdesa said:
Jonathan Cave said:
what makes you say that Trustdesa


Google Gtx 970 coil whine
Go on MSI and EVGA official forums



And personal experience.


I have zero coil whine so far."

I fail to see how MSI and EVGA having issues with quality control automatically = the 970 model in general being a "failure", that's utterly ridiculous.

 

[Alex Kelly]

Aw maxtex everyone seems to be having issues except reviewers! Maybe I should just get a refund for now.

 

[Trustdesa]

Aw maxtex everyone seems to be having issues except reviewers! Maybe I should just get a refund for now.

Good idea

 

[maxtex]

Haha yeah I guess that's cos they always test the cards they send to reviewers, just in case.

2 bad because I love how the Asus looks, it looks even better in the real with that metal shroud and gigantic heatpipe. But the coil whine, especially with higher fps, and the rattling of the fans under load are all hearable through the case, actually even with headphones on.. And that's just too much, not something you'd wanna have have with your brand new GPU. Imma test it out tomorrow with my new PSU, and if nothing's changed I'm sending it back on Monday or so.

Still, gotta decide what I wanna get next then, and I have no idea lol : P

 

[Jonathan Cave]

i feel bad for you guys , i have 2 x 970's and not a single bit of bother with either of them.

 

[Alex Kelly]

I think I'm going to try the next shipment of Strix cards, it really sucks that you've had issues with yours man.
Returning things and spending that much cash only to be disappointed is frustratingggg.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I've decided to hold out for Pascal. Not because the 970 is bad, clearly it's best bang for buck in high end right now, and I've read it can even handle Shadow of Mordor with the HD texture pack OK.

It's just that I think I can make my 7970 last until Pascal, and it will be revolutionary in just about every way. Stacked DRAM, unified memory, NVLink, and Dx12 support.

We'll also see LGA1151 with DDR4 support, Intel's Skylake smaller die CPUs for the budget platform, W10 with Dx12, and by then the DDR4 RAM should drop in latency and price, and the MBs that support it

2016 will be a great time to build a new rig or do a massive upgrade.

 

[maxtex]

Yeah that's not a bed idea, but I don't really wanna wait till 2016 with my Intel HD Graphics 4600 now

And yeah @alex its frustrating when you expect so much of a card and it has this annoying issue. Did you send your MSI back yet?

 

[maxtex]

Oh, idle my card is actually perfectly silent, I thought it made a slight buzzing noise then but that was the hard drive (it didn't do that before), which apparently i'm gonna have to replace too now lol.
When under load however, there is defintely buzzing from the card, after a while also from the fans, and coil whine if the fps gets very high.

I'm gonna install my new PSU later today, wonder if anything improves..

 

[Alex Kelly]

Yes I have, it hasn't reached the retailer yet though. I'll have to pay a 10% restocking fee if I want my money back I'm pretty sure :/ not sure what to do.

It's normal for a HDD to buzz/tick a bit. It's just how they work
Coil whine really bothers me though. Let me know how it goes with the new PSU.

 

[Jonathan Cave]

I've decided to hold out for Pascal. Not because the 970 is bad, clearly it's best bang for buck in high end right now, and I've read it can even handle Shadow of Mordor with the HD texture pack OK.

It's just that I think I can make my 7970 last until Pascal, and it will be revolutionary in just about every way. Stacked DRAM, unified memory, NVLink, and Dx12 support.

We'll also see LGA1151 with DDR4 support, Intel's Skylake smaller die CPUs for the budget platform, W10 with Dx12, and by then the DDR4 RAM should drop in latency and price, and the MBs that support it

2016 will be a great time to build a new rig or do a massive upgrade.

What you are saying makes sense. IF you can hold out until new tech is available then that's a sensible approach.

There is nothing sensible about me buying a 780 TI for £470 in May to sell it to my mate for £300 in September to spend £600 on 2 x 970's - but i'm just a geek at heart. - saying that i sold the 2 x free borderlands games for £40 in total as i have no interest in them.

 

[Jonathan Cave]

Oh, idle my card is actually perfectly silent, I thought it made a slight buzzing noise then but that was the hard drive (it didn't do that before), which apparently i'm gonna have to replace too now lol.
When under load however, there is defintely buzzing from the card, after a while also from the fans, and coil whine if the fps gets very high.

I'm gonna install my new PSU later today, wonder if anything improves..

At idle your card should be silent. the fans don't operate at all.

 

[Alex Kelly]

I think what he's saying is that he gets no coil whine at idle.

 

[Trustdesa]

There is a difference between being geek and being idiots... (that's in general in the tech world) if a product is faulty or has design flaw, that is it...accepting it for the sake of "I have to have it" it is very sad...

970 are brilliant cards, I had a full day to try mine before RMA it (for a full refund) and it is a very fast card even if I think that having fan off until 60 degrees is a bit sick for gaming cards.... however at this stage better to wait for revised versions and spend money for a good product

 

[Alex Kelly]

They are good products, just a fair few of them have some coil whine. Most people can deal with it.
Good point though.

 

[maxtex]

Yes I have, it hasn't reached the retailer yet though. I'll have to pay a 10% restocking fee if I want my money back I'm pretty sure :/ not sure what to do.

It's normal for a HDD to buzz/tick a bit. It's just how they work
Coil whine really bothers me though. Let me know how it goes with the new PSU.

Ah okay, still I'd swear it didn't buzz or less before...
And damn, what country you live in, lol. Here in Europe there's no such fee (not anymore at least), you just get full refund if you have a defect, and also if you simply changed your mind and want the product anymore (in that case you only gotta pay for the retour shipping costs yourself).

I am definitely returning mine on Monday, since there's the same coil whine with my new PSU. I got me a 600W Be Quiet Straight Power 10, one of the best PSUs supposedly, so the issue is with the GPU for sure.

 

[Alex Kelly]

Yeah I thought it would be the GPU.
At least you have a quality PSU now, though!

 

[RobCrezz]

Coil whine has been an issue with graphics cards for a long time - Tons of people have had coil whining (290/290x and 670 short pcb come to mind).

Sometimes people have just ran them under load for a while (a few hours of a benchmark) only for the coil whine to disappear for good.

 

[maxtex]

There is a difference between being geek and being idiots... (that's in general in the tech world) if a product is faulty or has design flaw, that is it...accepting it for the sake of "I have to have it" it is very sad...

970 are brilliant cards, I had a full day to try mine before RMA it (for a full refund) and it is a very fast card even if I think that having fan off until 60 degrees is a bit sick for gaming cards.... however at this stage better to wait for revised versions and spend money for a good product

I think the semi-passive system works perfectly, with the Asus at least. The only thing I can think off is the fans could spin even longer after you quit the game, to get all the heat out, but that's easily done by just lowering the temperature a bit where the fans kick in (and turn off again).

They are good products, just a fair few of them have some coil whine. Most people can deal with it.
Good point though.

Yeah, except I read somewhere that coil whine can be very bad for the card, so it isn't necessarily just a noise issue. Just minutes ago I went into Watch Dogs again to see if I still have the coil whine with my new PSU, and after a minute or two in the game the screen went black, and I had to restart the PC. I could maybe live with just a slight noise issue, but I don't wanna risk my card dying on me or something.

 

[maxtex]

Yeah I thought it would be the GPU.
At least you have a quality PSU now, though!

Yep Although my CS450M was a perfectly good PSU too for the previous two graphics cards I had, the 650 and 750 Ti, but yeah now that I wanna get a high end GPU it's nice to have a really good quality PSU with more power.

 

[Trustdesa]

Coil whine has been an issue with graphics cards for a long time - Tons of people have had coil whining (290/290x and 670 short pcb come to mind).

Sometimes people have just ran them under load for a while (a few hours of a benchmark) only for the coil whine to disappear for good.

Have you seen the videos? This coil whine is like an AC/DC concert... (and ehy....AC/DC did you get the electric joke here?)

Well they will sort this issue out as I am sure stores are not happy with the amount of people returning their cards asking for refunds...

 

[Alex Kelly]

Yeah it's damn frustrating.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Yeah I understand a lot of you probably can't hold out until Pascal, esp not knowing exactly when in 2016 it will debut, or if there will be first batch bugs or small quantities that sell out.

I'm only just less than 2 yrs into my 7970, and it's still plenty adequate, and surprisingly my i7 950, even at stock speed, is doing just fine.

When I built this rig though I did not put a 7970 in it, they weren't even out yet. I wanted a 580, but they'd just launched and prices were high.

My solution was to get a temp get-me-by GPU, then later upgrade. I found a sale at a local Frys on a GTS 250 for only $70 (back then that was a killer deal).

I was so impressed by that card's bang for buck performance that I ended up keeping it for 2 yr's instead of less than 1 yr.

Today, a deal on a 750 might be an equivalent temp solution, depending on what you currently have. It would sure as hell blow Intel 4600 away.

 

[maxtex]

Already had a 750 Ti... 'N I AINT CRAWLIN' BACK! Although I might...
I would maybe wanna wait for the "real" second generation of Maxwell cards, with the smaller chips (20/18/16nm or whatever they're gonna be), if I knew when they will come out. I'm thinking it might be spring next year, IF they can get the chips by then. Oh well I'm just gonna sit and wait a bit, maybe get a 970 later if the problems are gonna be fixed, maybe a 960 if it's cheap and not much slower.. Play some League of Legends in the meantime, intel HD copes pretty decently with that xD